The Return of A Loved One
by miaM531
Summary: What does the new professor know? (I'm really bad at summaries, so please bear with me!!)
1. He Leaves

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
Okay, I finally found out how to work fanfiction.net.and this is my first fic (.  
  
Well, I guess this is set after OotP, but in this story *********Sirius********** isn't dead. But Harry has all the knowledge that he has after OotP.hope you enjoy.(  
  
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Annika Black looked up at the sky and then down at her watch. It was half past ten in the evening. "Harry should be safe at home now," she thought.  
Annika started walking down Privet Drive and disapparated to London as soon as she was sure no one could see her. She fanned herself as she felt the hot air around her. "And what can I get for you, miss?" asked the clerk as Annika walked into a Starbucks. "I'll just have a Grande caramel frappachino," she answered. Annika smiled as she heard her American accent. Despite growing up and spending many years in England, Annika still had her American accent. "Thank you," said Annika as she took her coffee and walked outside. Annika took one look around London and turned in the direction of Little Whinging. "You will be safe from here on, Harry. I will see you at Hogwarts," she thought as she disapparated once more.  
  
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Harry Potter continued moping around his aunt's house. With nothing to do and nobody to see, Harry just sat around. Aunt Petunia was greatly annoyed by this, but she felt that Harry should stay as close to home as possible. Harry was touched by Aunt Petunia's care, but he felt that she was only doing this because she didn't want her precious Dudley to get hurt. "This has got to be the most boring birthday ever," Harry thought. "Ron and Hermione didn't even send me anything. And Sirius promised me something really good." Harry sighed. "That stupid blood protection. I wish I could've gone straight to Grimmauld Place instead of coming here." But deep down, Harry knew that the blood protection was what partly kept Harry alive throughout his sixteen years. Harry sighed again and looked up at the ceiling of the living room. Harry didn't even feel like doing his homework.  
  
"Ahhh!!!!" Aunt Petunia ran in the house from her flowerbed screaming. Harry sat up alarmed. Aunt Petunia ran to the kitchen and shut the door. Harry crept to the window to look outside. Amazed at what he saw, his eyes opened wide. He saw a girl, no more than sixteen, with big bushy hair and a boy, tall, with flaming red hair. A tall, thin man with sandy hair was walking in front of them. A lady with pink hair and a pig snout walked behind them as a giant black dog ran alongside them. Harry gasped with surprise and ran to door to fling it open. "What are you doing here?" asked Harry excitedly as he watched Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Ron, and Hermione run up to greet him. The dog ran past him to get inside the house. Everyone else closely followed.  
  
As soon as the door was shut, the dog changed into Sirius and was enveloped in a giant hug by Harry. "Well, it's good to see you too, Harry," said Sirius with a smile on his face. Ron was looking around the living room as Hermione was telling him what each of the things was. "So.what are you guys doing here?" asked Harry. "Well, I promised you something good right?" said Sirius. "And you're gonna get something good." "I could live with you forever?" said Harry expectantly. "Er.no, you'll have to come back next year, but you could spend the rest of the summer with me!" said Sirius with a big smile. Harry's face fell. Sirius looked at Lupin with a smirk on his face. Lupin smiled and winked at him. Tonks turned around and bumped into the magazine rack. "Oops, my fault. Let me just pick that up," said Tonks as Aunt Petunia came charging out of the kitchen.  
  
"What are you doing at my house?" she asked with newfound courage. "We're not doing anything, we're just picking up your nephew for a good birthday surprise," answered Lupin. "Well, you're not going anywhere with him," said Petunia. She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him behind her. "Aunt Petunia, it's okay. That's my godfather and you remember Ron," said Harry. Petunia looked at Ron. A flicker of recognition flashed in her eyes. She let go of Harry. "You will take him?" asked Aunt Petunia. Lupin nodded. "Where?" "We cannot tell you. But I can assure you that he will be safe and he will return next summer." Aunt Petunia looked unconvinced. "Enough of this nonsense, Harry, where are your things?" asked Sirius. "It's upstairs, in my bedroom," answered Harry. "I can show you," said Ron. Ron started up the stairs with Sirius, Tonks, and Hermione closely following. "Don't forget Hedwig!" he yelled after them. Aunt Petunia looked from Harry to Lupin. "I promise, he'll be safe," said Lupin. Aunt Petunia looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, but my husband will be home from work soon, and he will know how to take care of you." Lupin smiled and said, "We will be long gone, I promise you."  
  
Tonks came tripping down the stairs with Harry's trunk levitating in front of her. Sirius followed holding Hedwig's cage while Hedwig was flying overhead. Ron and Hermione came down last, making sure nothing was left. "Let's go!" said Tonks as she stood up. Aunt Petunia looked at them with fire in her eyes. Tonks strode to the front door and opened it. Hedwig flew out and Tonks followed with Harry's trunk in front of her. "Er.it was nice to see you again, I suppose," said Ron to Aunt Petunia as he walked out. Hermione smiled at Aunt Petunia as she followed Ron. Aunt Petunia raised her eyebrows as she watched them walk out. Then she turned to look at Harry, Lupin, and Sirius. "Well, bye then," said Harry to Aunt Petunia as he made his way to the door. "Very well," said Aunt Petunia as she watched Harry walk out with Sirius. "Uh, well, thank you, then," said Lupin. "You can tell your husband and son that the term started a month earlier and Harry was escorted back." Aunt Petunia gave a slight nod. She followed Lupin as he walked out of the house. Harry looked back at the house and saw Lupin walking very fast behind them. He saw Aunt Petunia at the door and gave her a wave. "See you next summer!"  
  
Aunt Petunia watched them as they walked down the street and then ran in the house and locked the door. It was broad daylight, what if the neighbors were looking out their windows and saw those people come? Aunt Petunia looked out the window and saw that nobody was coming to her door. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I must get started on lunch. Dudders will be craving for some when he gets back from the park," thought Petunia.  
  
"Er.Sirius." started Harry. "Yeah, Harry?" answered Sirius. "Umm.how did you get here? And how are we gonna get to your house?" "We took a portkey to Arabella Figg's place and that's where we're headed."  
  
Tonks opened the door to Mrs. Figg's house and left it open for everyone following behind. Harry walked inside and wrinkled his nose, smelling the cats once more. "Harry, how nice to see you again," said Mrs. Figg. "Uh, yeah," answered Harry. Mrs. Figg smiled and said, "The portkey's on the kitchen table." She gestured towards the kitchen. "Okay, we're leaving in (Lupin looks at a clock) 3 minutes," said Lupin. "Everyone get in position. Tonks - that trunk." "Oh, right," said Tonks. She transfigured the trunk into a small briefcase and held it. Lupin picked up the portkey (a broken figurine). "Thank you for all of your help, Arabella," said Lupin. Mrs. Figg smiled and looked at Harry. "You take care of yourself now, Harry," she said. Harry smiled and said, "Thank you." "Okay, everyone gather 'round," said Lupin. "In three.two.one." Harry felt the familiar feeling of a hook being jerked behind his navel as he was going through a whirlwind of color and sound.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I made Petunia kind of nicer after the "Remember my last" ordeal. 


	2. From Summer To A New Professor

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
Okay, I finally found out how to work fanfiction.net.and this is my first fic (.  
  
Well, I guess this is set after OotP, but in this story *********Sirius********** isn't dead. But Harry has all the knowledge that he has after OotP.hope you enjoy.  
  
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The portkey landed on Grimmauld Place. They all looked at Sirius's house that popped out between numbers 11 and 13.  
  
Tonks opened the door to the house and walked inside closely followed by the rest of the group. Everything was dark. It looked like nobody was home. But the house looked livable. Harry looked around to see if the portrait of Sirius's mum was still hanging. It was.  
  
Tonks tiptoed up the stairs and gestured to Harry to open the door to the drawing room. Harry walked up past Hermione and Ron and opened the door.  
  
"SURPRISE!!!"  
  
A look of bewilderment went across Harry's face as he was registering everything in. He looked around the room and saw the smiling faces Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George, Bill, Moody, Kingsley, and Mundungus Fletcher.  
  
Ron, Hermione, Tonks, Lupin, and Sirius went around Harry, into the room. Harry looked on the walls. There was a sign that read, "Happy 16th Birthday, Harry!" with little Quidditch players moving around the poster. It flashed colors of scarlet and black.  
  
"Well, happy birthday, Harry," said Sirius with a big smile.  
  
The summer went by quickly. After Harry's birthday party (his first ever!), Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny had a ball at Grimmauld Place. Sirius was happy to finally be spending time with his godson. But before they knew it, it was August 31.  
  
"Where is my prefect badge?" asked Ron.  
  
"Look on your bed, where you left it," said Harry.  
  
Ron picked up his badge and pinned it carefully to his robes.  
  
"Now, are you all packed up?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she walked into their room. Mrs. Weasley set down clean clothes on their beds.  
  
"Almost, Mum," answered Ron.  
  
"All right, but be quick, we're leaving early tomorrow morning," said Mrs. Weasley. "Good night, boys."  
  
The next morning, everyone scrambled around to leave on time. Before they walked out the door, Sirius pulled Harry aside.  
  
"Remember the mirror this time," said Sirius with a smile. "It can contact me and you don't have to go breaking into any teacher's office to use the fire."  
  
"Okay, Sirius," said Harry loudly, hoping to forget when Umbridge caught him in her office. He hugged Sirius, who gave him a big hug back.  
  
"Now you have fun. And don't do anything I wouldn't do."  
  
"Okay, Sirius. I'll come back over Christmas, okay?"  
  
Sirius nodded. Harry followed Ron and the rest of them to the front hall. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, and Moody were going to the train station by using the Underground.  
  
"Uh, Harry?" called Sirius, as Harry was about to walk out.  
  
"Yes?" he answered as he turned to look at Sirius.  
  
"Hope you have a better Defense teacher this year," said Sirius with a big smile on his face. "No, actually, I know you'll have a better Defense teacher this year."  
  
"What? Okay," said Harry.  
  
Sirius grinned and ran upstairs.  
  
"Well, that's weird. Last year he didn't even want us to leave and now he's all smiley and giddy?" thought Harry.  
  
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Harry stepped off the train and looked around. He heard Hagrid somewhere, calling for the first years. He went to the carriages and saw the thestrals again. Harry winced and climbed into the carriage with Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. They got off in the great hall and walked toward the Gryffindor table.  
  
During the Sorting, Harry and Ron looked at the head table. They saw all familiar faces and one new one.  
  
"Who do you think she is?" asked Ron.  
  
"Obviously the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," answered Harry.  
  
"I bet you 20 Galleons she won't come back next year," said Ron.  
  
Harry looked at him and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that'd be a really fair bet. Nobody has stayed in the post for longer than a year."  
  
At the head table, Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. Everyone quieted down as they saw him stand. "To our first years - welcome!" Dumbledore looked around the Great Hall and beamed at the sight of the scared little faces. "To our old friends - welcome back! Now, no time to chat, let's all eat!" Food appeared out of nowhere and everyone in the Great Hall began to eat. Chatter filled throughout the hall as everyone started to catch up on old times.  
  
As soon as everyone had finished eating, Dumbledore stood once more. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at Dumbledore. "Now that we are all fed, I will announce the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest is out of bounds to students. Some of our older students should know that by now, too. "Mr. Filch, our caretaker has asked me once more to remind you that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes. A number of other things that are not permitted in the corridors can be found on an extensive list fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."  
"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place next Friday. See Madam Hooch to sign up," "And finally, due to the unfortunate circumstances of our last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the post was once again empty." He gestured to the woman sitting next to him. "Miss Annika Black has graciously accepted my offer to fill the spot."  
  
A round of polite applause sounded through the Great Hall. Harry noticed that Malfoy was particularly excited with the new teacher and clapped hard for her. Ron nudged Harry and nodded to the head table. They saw Snape give a small smile to Annika, as she nodded toward him. They watched Annika look around the Great Hall, stopping at the Slytherin table. She and Malfoy eyed each other and Malfoy smiled. Annika raised her eyebrow and gave a small smile to Malfoy.  
  
Ron looked at Harry and said, "Do you think she's somewhat close to Malfoy?"  
  
Harry shrugged and yawned. All he wanted was to get back to his dormitory and go to sleep.  
  
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Well, that's for now. I got a bit tired. 


	3. The First Lesson

Disclaimer: I own nothing…  
  
Okay, I finally found out how to work fanfiction.net…and this is my first fic.  
  
Well, I guess this is set after OotP, but in this story *********Sirius********** isn't dead. It's just easier that way. But Harry has all the knowledge that he has after OotP…hope you enjoy…  
  
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Harry woke up the next day with the sun shining in from the window. He looked around his dormitory and saw that Seamus and Dean had already left the room, probably on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He heard Neville's snores still going on from his bed.  
  
"Oy. You wanna go down and get some breakfast?" asked Ron.  
  
"Sure, okay," answered Harry.  
  
They stood up, got dressed, and walked downstairs to the common room. They saw Hermione sitting in her chair, reading a book. Ron looked at her awestruck.  
  
"It's the first day! We haven't even got our schedules, yet!" he exclaimed.  
  
"I know I just want to get a head start, that's all," she replied.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes and walked across the room to open the portrait. Hermione sighed and stood up to follow Ron. Harry walked after them to the Great Hall.  
  
They followed some Hufflepuffs into the Great Hall, looking at the staff table as they walked to the Gryffindor table. They saw the new teacher, Professor Black, sitting next to Snape. She looked up from her plate and looked straight at Harry. Harry saw her cold, brown eyes staring at him and he looked away.  
  
"Hey, Harry, here's your schedule," said Hermione as she passed it to him.  
  
"Look, we get Defense Against the Dark Arts today," said Ron. "Now we can see how this new teacher is. Who wants to bet she's like Umbridge?"  
  
"I'll take you up on that bet, mate," said Seamus. "Except I say she's like Lupin."  
  
"No way! She doesn't look like a Lupin," replied Ron.  
  
"Well, of course not. After all she is a lady," said Seamus, laughing.  
  
"Whatever, I think she'll be like Moody," said Dean.  
  
Harry looked up at him. Ron started laughing and said, "Moody? I don't see any wooden leg and messed up face!"  
  
"What d'you reckon she'll be like, Harry?" asked Seamus.  
  
Harry looked back at the staff table. He had a feeling that he had seen Professor Black before, somewhere, many times before.  
  
"I dunno. Nobody could beat Umbridge as the worst teacher right now," said Harry.  
  
"Well, in 20 minutes we could see how she is," said Hermione. "Defense is our first class today. Do you think she'll let us practice defensive spells?"  
  
"I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see," replied Harry.  
  
The sixth-year Gryffindors entered the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom and saw Professor Black sitting at her desk, eyeing every student who walked in the door. The class was walking in quietly, not even whispering as they took their seats around the room.  
  
When all the students sat down, Professor Black stood up and walked around to the front of her desk. She looked at each of the students with her cold eyes, as if she were analyzing each of them for their strengths and weaknesses.  
  
"Well, good morning, everyone," she said as she leaned back, against her desk.  
  
"Oh no, another Umbridge," whispered Ron as the rest of the class replied, "Good morning, Professor Black." Seamus turned around and whispered back, "An American Umbridge!" with a smirk on his face.  
  
Professor Black looked around the room with her eyebrow raised and the hint of a smile on her face.  
  
After Professor Black finished taking roll, she cleared her throat and said, "Well, I hope this year will be very different from your previous years. I have conversed with Professor Dumbledore and one of your previous teachers and so I hope that I have caught up with what you've all been doing over the last five years. Now your last teacher taught –"  
  
" – Nothing at all," Harry said under his breath.  
  
Professor Black stopped talking and looked at Harry. "Sorry," mumbled Harry.  
  
"As I was saying, your last teacher taught you about curses." Everyone in the room looked surprised that she didn't mention Umbridge. "This year," she continued, not noticing the surprise of her students, "we will go deeper in that subject and learn how to protect yourselves from certain dark creatures – human or not. But first I will tell you –" Professor Black looked at them meaningfully, as close to warm as her eyes could get. "Everything that is spoken in here will never leave this room."  
  
Professor Black thinned her lips and stood up. She began walking around the room, between the desks.  
  
"Now, to start the term off, does anyone have any questions?"  
  
Hermione's hand shot straight up and waved a little. Professor Black looked at her and said, "Yes, Miss Granger?"  
  
"Um, are we going to have practical lessons and be able to practice defensive spells?" asked Hermione.  
  
Professor Black looked at her with surprise on her face. "Of course, Hermione. This is a class, a very important class, in which each and everyone of you will have to participate."  
  
"Oh, okay, Professor. Thank you," replied Hermione with a big grin on her face.  
  
Ron leaned toward Harry and whispered, "D'you think she's related to Snuffles?" Harry shrugged and tried to think of where he saw her face before. Professor Black turned toward Ron and said, "Yes, Ron. I am, in fact, related to Sirius Black, a question that I'm sure went through each of your minds." Ron looked at her with surprise in his face.  
  
"You have really good hearing, Professor," said Ron, red in the face.  
  
"I've been told, Ron," replied Professor Black with a tiny smile.  
  
"Um, can I ask you how you're related to him?" asked Ron.  
  
"I believe you just did, Ron. I am his cousin," she said coldly.  
  
Harry's head jerked up and he looked at Professor Black. "Could she be in those pictures in Kreacher's room at headquarters?" he thought.  
  
"Any more questions?" asked Professor Black, making her way to the front of the classroom. Taken aback by her sudden coldness when Sirius Black was mentioned, the class shook their heads. "Very well."  
  
"As I was saying before, we will go deeper into studying curses and hexes." Professor Black stood before them. "In light of the events that have taken place last June, I will teach you more than defense, although you will very much need it. An inevitable war is coming; you might even say that it's already here. The same war that took place sixteen years ago. A war between good and evil, between the light and the dark. There is no doubt that Voldemort (everyone shuddered and gasped except Harry and Hermione) will try to claim as many followers as he can. But first, you must all get over your fear of saying 'Voldemort.'"  
  
Everyone gasped again. Professor Black sighed. " A wise, old wizard told me many years ago, 'Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.' And I just told it to you. Now, I know many of you may fear Voldemort (many people gasped), but you are all Gryffindors and brave at heart. So my lesson today will be just to say the name 'Voldemort.'" Many people gasped and looked surprise.  
  
"Voldemort!" yelled Harry. Ron nudged him in his ribs. Harry grinned at him.  
  
"Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Potter. . . Harry, ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Black. "Hermione?"  
  
Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Voldemort," loud and clear. Professor Black smiled and gave Hermione ten points as well. She looked around the class at everyone who were avoiding her gaze so as not to be the next one to say 'Voldemort.'  
  
"Everyone, look at me," said Professor Black. Everyone looked up. "I am not going to force you to say Voldemort (many people gasped), but be prepared, because in this class, I will not say 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named' so get used to at least hearing the name spoken aloud." She looked around. "Anyone else?" Everyone immediately looked away. Professor Black sighed.  
  
"Okay. Can everyone repeat the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' to me?" she asked.  
  
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," replied the class, slightly surprised at the change.  
  
"Well, that's one step closer," said Professor Black. Harry looked at Hermione and winked. If the class were going to be like this, he'd pass it with no problem at all.  
  
"Why, Professor?" asked Parvati, with her hand in the air.  
  
Professor Black looked at them, surprised again. "Why, that's Voldemort's (many people gasped, though not as many as before) name before he turned into the Dark Lord. That was his name, here at Hogwarts." The class looked surprised save Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Alright, does everyone want to lay of the 'Voldemort' (still people gasped) stuff for now?" asked Professor Black. The majority of the class nodded. "Very well."  
  
Professor Black looked up, thinking. "Okay, well, going back to our curses, I know Professor uh – 'Moody' taught you about the Unforgivables. Who can tell me what the three Unforgivable Curses are and what do they do?"  
  
Several hands rose hesitantly in the air. Professor Black looked at Neville and said, "Yes? Neville Longbottom, is it?"  
  
Neville nodded and said in a small voice, "The Imperius Curse. When someone has total control over you."  
  
Professor Black nodded and said, "Can it be fought?"  
  
Everyone nodded in the class and looked Harry. Harry looked down, uneasily, afraid that Professor Black would try the curse on him as 'Moody' did.  
  
"Anything else, Neville?"  
  
Neville nodded and said in a louder voice, "The Cruciatus Curse." He stopped for a moment and Professor Black nodded and raised an eyebrow. "It causes extreme pain and is used for torture. It can make you lose your mind," he continued.  
  
Harry raised his hand. "Yes, Harry?" asked Professor Black.  
  
"Can I add something to that, Professor?"  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"Um," Harry stopped for a moment and thought about the scene at the Ministry of Magic with Bellatrix Lestrange and wondered whether or not he should mention it. "When that curse is used, you have to want to cause pain and enjoy it. If you're angry, it won't work."  
  
"Very true, Harry," replied Professor Black. Harry looked away, avoiding Hermione and Ron's gaze. "And what about the last curse, Neville?"  
  
"The Killing Curse. . . Avada Kedavra. It kills . . . and you need powerful magic to do it," he replied, almost in a whisper.  
  
"Yes, thank you Neville."  
  
For the rest of the class period, Professor Black told them about different curses and hexes. But before the period ended, Neville raised his hand again. Harry looked at him surprised; this was probably the most that Neville has ever volunteered in any class besides Herbology. Professor Black raised an eyebrow.  
  
Neville took a deep breath and whispered, "Voldemort."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that, Neville," said Professor Black.  
  
Neville cleared his throat and said, "Vol – Voldemort," a bit louder. A true smile went across Professor Black's face. She awarded him ten points and promised everyone that the next class will be much more exciting.  
  
Everyone talked excitedly as they packed up their stuff and walked outside the class. Harry hung back a little.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Oh, nothing. I just want to ask Professor Black something," answered Harry. "Just wait for me outside the door, I'll be quick."  
  
"Well, okay then," said Ron and he and Hermione walked out of the classroom.  
  
Harry walked toward the front of the classroom and called for Professor Black.  
  
"Yes?" she said as she walked out of her office. She looked at him with her eyes and said, "Harry Potter."  
  
"Um, yeah. I was just wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me."  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
"Okay. Um, you're Sirius's cousin, right?"  
  
"Yes, we established that during class."  
  
Harry nodded and said, "How did you know that he's 'Snuffles'?"  
  
Professor Black smiled and Harry saw the unnatural coldness leave her eyes. "Sirius and I are very close. He tells me many things and I, him."  
  
"Oh. I feel like I've seen you before."  
  
"Pictures, perhaps? I know that you've been in many places, seen many things. You probably saw my face in a picture of some sort. Perhaps, in the bedroom of a certain house-elf?"  
  
"How d'you know about that?"  
  
"He was always a crazy little thing."  
  
"Um, are you on the tapestry?"  
  
"Yes, I believe I am."  
  
"But how come I didn't see your name it?"  
  
"Do you remember what you saw?"  
  
"Yeah. Sirius's name was burned off and so were Tonks and her mother. And Tonks's mother is sisters with Malfoy's mum and – "  
  
"Yes. Have you looked beneath Narcissa's name?"  
  
Harry couldn't recall if he did. "I, I don't think so. I just remember seeing Malfoy's name and I was surprised that he's related to scum like that."  
  
Professor Black nodded.  
  
"But. . . why are you American?"  
  
"I was born and I lived there for the first few years of my life. Until I was nine years old."  
  
"Oh. Why'd you live there and not in Britain, where your family was?"  
  
"That is something that I would like to keep to myself, Harry."  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
  
"That's alright. Now going back to our lesson. . ." Harry thought about what he said about the Cruciatus Curse. "You seemed to know a lot about the Cruciatus Curse. I heard that you resisted the Imperius Curse when it was placed upon you and the Killing Curse. . . I don't think you need to hear that story again."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I read a lot during the summer about the Cruciatus Curse."  
  
Professor Black looked into his green eyes. "Eyes like Lily's," she thought. Harry felt like she was reading his soul.  
  
"You used it."  
  
"How did you – No – I didn't mean to, I thought he was de-"  
  
"It's alright, Harry. Bellatrix. You used it on her."  
  
Harry nodded looking down at his feet.  
  
"She's your sister, isn't she?"  
  
"You could say that."  
  
Professor Black stood and walked toward the window. She looked out at the clear, blue sky.  
  
"You should probably leave soon. Your friends are wondering what's taking you so long. You may be late for your next class."  
  
Harry nodded and looked surprised at his teacher. He walked toward the door, but before he opened it, Professor Black said, "Harry?" Harry turned and looked at her. "In the next lesson, we will be starting to practice defensive spells. We'll start with the basics and work our way up. I heard that you were the leader of a certain 'army.'"  
  
"How do you know about that?" asked Harry.  
  
Professor Black smiled. A smile that reached up to her eyes. "Professor Dumbledore and Sirius informed me about it. Most of the people in this class were apart of the group, isn't that right?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Good. Then we may be able to work fast. I'm going to ask you to help me during the class. I don't think it will be too difficult because most of what I will teach are spells, jinxes, and hexes. Some things that you've already taught to your group, right?" Harry nodded again. "Good."  
  
Harry turned the doorknob.  
  
"And Harry?" He turned again. "Please don't mention anything about my being close with Sirius to anybody. It is better for everyone to believe that I would not associate with him. Draco is my nephew and he would go straight to his parents if he hears anything about my being friendly with him."  
  
Harry nodded. "And please, don't say anything about me using the curse, you know."  
  
"I won't," Professor Black promised.  
  
Harry walked out of the classroom to Ron and Hermione, patiently waiting in the hall. 


End file.
